Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who testified before the House select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 riot in 2021, launched his second run for Congress on Wednesday.
Dunn is seeking to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who represents Maryland’s 5th Congressional District. He’ll be facing state Del. Adrian Boafo (D-MD), Hoyer’s former campaign manager and endorsed pick, among others, in the crowded Democratic primary field.
Dunn last ran for a House seat in 2024, but his campaign was cut short when he lost to now-Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) in the Democratic primary. The two were running for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District at the time.
In a campaign launch video titled “Done Waiting,” Dunn compared the events of Jan. 6, 2021, to what he’s seeing now with the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and protests. He alluded to the fatal officer-involved shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
“Lawlessness isn’t always a mob. Now, it comes with a title, a budget, a badge, a weapon, and lies from behind the podium,” Dunn said. “I see the same aggression in ICE agents that I saw from January 6 insurrectionists. Unchecked force, American citizens murdered, and lies to cover it up.”
Dunn has been particularly critical of President Donald Trump ever since the Capitol riot. When Trump returned to office last year, Dunn criticized him for pardoning more than 1,500 Jan. 6 participants.
Dunn said he “wasn’t shocked” by the president’s sweeping pardons, adding people “were not paying attention” if they were surprised. Trump often floated the idea while campaigning in 2024.
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If elected this year, Dunn hopes to directly challenge Trump’s actions from Capitol Hill, rather than by merely testifying before Congress as he did five years ago.
“Tell Donald Trump I’m coming back to the Capitol, this time with a vote, with oversight authority, with subpoena power, with the full constitutional authority granted to a member of the United States Congress,” he said. “I’m ready to finish the job that I started. I will defend this country again.”